Let me tell you a story

Last week was going great! School had gone relatively well, Ashlynn has been sleeping much better. I had been super diligent about my workout schedule. And Aubrey's party was coming up on Saturday. So Friday evening after supper, I went to HEB to get the things I still needed for the party. Butter flavoring for the icing, chips, sodas, hot dogs, as well as milk and eggs for the coming week.

When I got in the store, I reached into my purse and pulled the pen out of my wallet to mark my items off my list. My shopping trip was uneventful, until I was done. After I scratched the last things off my list, I started to put my pen back in my wallet...

only it wasn't there.

My purse is not enormous, so there was no way I was just not seeing it. So I looked in the cart to see if it had fallen out. I retraced my steps a bit to see if it had dropped on the floor. I searched my purse again, panic starting to creep in. I went to the customer service desk to ask if one had been turned out (yes, I know it was a feeble hope, but it seemed like the next logical step). No wallet.

So at 7:10 pm. I called Kelly to let him know that it appeared that my wallet had been stolen. After we got off the phone, I searched my cart one more time, praying that it was just hiding under the hot dog buns. Of course, no wallet. So I left my cart and raced home, thankful that my whole purse wasn't missing. I still had my keys, cell phone, and iPod.

By the time I got home, Kelly had already cancelled our check card and our MasterCard. The Discover was canceled a moment later. But in that time, nearly $1000 in charges had already been racked up. We also had to activate fraud alerts with the three major credit agencies, call for new health insurance cards for the kids and me, and we had to figure out what to do about running the household when I had no way to access our bank - I couldn't even prove to the bank who I was to make a withdrawal. Kelly even had to return to HEB to get the stuff I needed for the party.

Though I thought it was probably useless, many of my friends urged me to file a police report and report it to HEB. When I told the loss prevention guy at our HEB how much had been taken, he was able to find that amount on their computer, find the time, and found the surveillance footage of the lady who was using my card! She was using my check card to buy gift cards at 7:11 pm. Did you notice the time? While I was on the phone with Kelly, telling him about the theft, the lady was just feet away at check-out lane #24 using my card.

I have to say that I have seen God's hand in this in so many ways. I didn't get all they way to the checkout lane, getting all my stuff on the belt first. We were able to get it canceled very fast, so only a minimum amount of damage was done. A sweet friend came over today to watch the kids so I could go get my driver's license. At our Sunday evening ladies' Bible study, a friend of mine prayed for the salvation of the thief who stole my wallet. Talk about convicted! Yikes, praying for her hadn't even crossed my mind, I'm sorry to say. Definitely a good lesson for me.

So that's the wonderful drama on our house lately. Never a dull moment!